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Hermes
"I have the speed of Olympus with me, mortal!" - Hermes Greek Mythology In Greek mythology, Hermes (Ἑρμῆς) is the great messenger of the gods and additionally a guide to the Underworld. As an Olympian god he was the patron of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them, of shepherds and cowherds, of thieves and liars and their cunningness, of orators and wit, of literature and poets, of athletics and sports, of weights and measures, of invention, general commerce, profit and good luck. Another of his duites was to take Dreams from the God Morpheus and deliver them to the mortals. His symbols include the tortoise, the rooster, the winged hat, the caduceus and the most recognizable of all, his winged sandals. He was the son of Zeus and the Pleiades Maia, a daughter of the mighty Titan Atlas. In the God of War Series ''God of War: Betrayal'' In God of War: Betrayal, his son Ceryx appears, and is killed by Kratos. One of the most popular theories about the identity of assassin who killed Argos is that he is Hermes himself (since in the Greek myths it was he who slew Argos in the name of Zeus). If this theory is correct, it means nearly all the gods of Olympus plotted against Kratos. ''God of War II'' During the Great War, Hermes is one of the gods who fought the Titans and is seen dodging a boulder thrown at him by one of them. After Kratos saved the Titans by traveling back in time, the second Great War began with the Titans scaling Mount Olympus. Amongst the onlooking gods was Hermes, standing between Hades and Helios. ''God of War III'' "To catch a fly from the ass of Zeus is not worth my time, Hermes" - Kratos '' ''"A coward's words Kratos, you don't try to catch me, because you know you can't!" ''- Hermes Hermes is one of the Gods who battles the Titans and Kratos. When the Titans ascend Mount Olympus, Hermes leaps from the balcony where he and the other gods were standing and begins running straight down the mountain itself. He is not seen again, which makes his actual contribution to the fight unknown. While in the Labryinth, Kratos encounters Hermes directly, who taunts him about his quest for vengeance and boasts about his own speed. After trading insults with Kratos, Hermes runs up the Chain of Balance linking the Underworld and Olympus, and Kratos climbs up after him. Hermes reappears in the Chamber of the Flame, again taunting Kratos about his lack of speed. He then leads Kratos around the outside of the palace at the peak of Mt. Olympus (olympian citidel) on a perilous chase, with Kratos dodging incoming projectiles from the Titan War and performing various platforming challenges to keep up with the messenger of the gods. Eventually, Kratos corners Hermes by launching a boulder from a catapult, chaining himself to the boulder with his Blades. The boulder crashes into the giant statue of Athena that Hermes has perched himself on, and in the fall Hermes is wounded. Unable to escape, Hermes unsuccessfully attempts to defeat Kratos in combat, using his formidable speed and agility to his advantage. Unfortunately for him, his wounds from the crash keep him tired and he is continually stopping to catch his breath. Defeated, Hermes mocks Kratos one last time, and dies when Kratos chops the god's legs off to take his winged boots. Hermes' corpse dissolves into a swarm of disease-carrying flies that cover the land. Personality "''What makes you think you can ever catch me?" Hermes is shown as being playful and childish during his encounter with Kratos. He is greatly arrogant and boastful of his own speed, thinking that Kratos has no chance of defeating him. He acts quite laid-back most of the time, frequently flipping his coin when idle. He is also fairly talkative, taunting Kratos about his tendency to kill family members, his quest for vengeance, and his inability to match Hermes' speed. However, it appears that this light-hearted demeanor masks a seething hatred, which occasionally becomes evident in his dialogue with the Spartan and especially manifests itself when he is forced to confront Kratos in battle. Like most of the gods defeated in the game, he remains defiant to the end, laughing at Kratos' "own sense of honour" and insisting that the Ghost of Sparta will only betray himself in the end. Powers and Abilities Like all other gods, Hermes was Immortal, Invincible, and possessed Super Strength. However Pandora's Box or the Blade of Olympus have the power to kill him. Being the fastest of the gods as noted in the myths, Hermes was the fastest of all who dwelt on Olympus. This power came from his winged boots. They gave him the ability to defy gravity by running up walls, down mountains, along thin ropes, and by jumping incredible distances. Hermes may also have the power of Conjuring The Elements, as seen at the end of God of War II, Hermes has fire protruding from his hair and winged sandals. However in God of War III Hermes has bright light for hair that sometimes is seen in flames. It's possible that he has the power of Shapeshifting, a power that all Gods possess. The rest of Hermes' abilites are unknown, as he hasn't been seen fighting anyone other than Kratos. Trivia *He is voiced by Greg Ellis. *In Greek mythology, Hermes wore sandals which allowed him to fly. However, in the God of War Series, not only does he wear boots instead of sandals, but they appear to only give him the power to speedily run along any surface. This is noted when Hermes runs along a rope to the Statue of Athena which he perched himself on, and when Kratos smashed into the Statue with the boulder, which Hermes tried to cling onto desperately. In both instances, Hermes should have been able to fly. At first, on top of the statue, and secondly, to stop himself from crashing. However, it is possible he was trying to keep his game between him and Kratos fair enough to his liking and that the boots can indeed grant flight, as evidenced by Kratos using the boots to perform aerial evasions in conjunction with the Wings of Icarus. *Hermes also lacks a caduceus, a wand that most depictions of Hermes are always seen with. Instead, Hermes possesses a gold coin, which he occasionally flips with his fingers, and which can also be collected as an item. Even though the caduceus wand itself is missing, you can still see its symbol of Hermes' chest. He may have passed it down to his son, as Ceryx was seen with it, and was destroyed along with Ceryx himself. In the novel, Hermes does posses a caduceus and uses it to create an image of Kratos who is about to jump from the Suicide Bluffs, thereby warning Athena of her pet mortal. *Hermes' coin is one of the Godly Possessions and, if collected, can grant ten times the collected amount of orbs in a follow up playthrough in Bonus Play. *The Evil Hermes was likely infected with from Pandora's box was Vain-Glory/Cowardice. He displays these traits by his constant taunting and boasting towards Kratos while still refusing to fight him. Hermes also speaks of himself as the most handsome of all the god, in the novel. *Hermes is one of the easier bosses in the game due to the fact that he uses speed, and not strength. And although he is fast, he can be attacked from a distance, somewhat making the fight easier. *In one of the early trailers for God of War: Chains of Olympus, when the sun disappears, Hermes along with Zeus, Athena, and Poseidon, can be seen sitting on the clouds. *In the novel, it is shown that Hermes is somewhat attracted to Athena. He does, however, state that he was just bantering with his favourite sister, although he describes her as the most beautiful of the goddesses. Gallery Hermes-digitalbooklet-BloodandMetal.jpg|Hermes artwork, taken from the Blood and Metal digital booklet ApolloorHermes.jpg|Hermes God of War II concept art. 1hermes gow2.jpg|Hermes in the throne room in God of War 2. 2hermes gow 2.jpg|Hermes in God of War 2. File:Untitled_41.png|Hermes and Zeus File:Untitled_14.png|Hermes showing off his speed by running down the sheer cliffs of Mount Olympus File:Chapter3-57.jpg|Hermes talking File:Untitledhermes_44.png|Hermes trying to flee File:Untitled_19.png|Hermes, exhausted File:Untitled_1111.png|Hermes trying to crawl away with one leg File:Hermes_11.png|Finishing off Hermes File:Untitled_2hermes.png|Hermes' corpse Video Related Pages *Ceryx *Gods *Boots of Hermes Category:Characters Category:God of War II Category:God of War III Category:God of War (Comics) Category:Bosses